Can We Do Lunch?

I recently had lunch with the president of the company I work for currently. Quite frankly, the lunch was great! I was able to ask him many questions and he gave me great advice from business, to leadership, and life overall. I felt that after leaving the lunch I was equipped with great tips for life from a lifetime of leadership.

Can we do lunch? It’s a simple question, but how often do we ask? Of course, you have to know the appropriate way and time to ask based on your work environment, but ask! What do you have to lose? The knowledge gained, and the relationship cultivated can be very useful to you in life.

Here are a few tips I found on asking the big question:

1) Have a purpose. One of the most important points in asking your boss to lunch is asking for a specific business reason. Whether it's discussing a new client or talking about that raise you mentioned some time ago, it's important to come to the boss with a specific business purpose so that the parameters of the lunch are clear from the outset.

2) Ask well in advance. It's good to let the boss know at least a few days in advance so that the request doesn't strike your boss as strange or impulsive. Asking in advance will provide a regularity to the lunch and give the boss an opportunity to schedule the right amount of time.

3) Make the request in person. Asking in person will allow you to use facial expression, voice tone and body language to give the right impression about the lunch. An email, on the other hand, can be interpreted incorrectly so it's best to ask face to face.

4) Ask at the right time. Requesting a lunch in the middle of a harried season or crisis is not the best idea. Instead, ask when things are relaxed enough to spare the time. This will make both you and your boss feel comfortable about the meeting.

Good luck with asking! You'll be happy you did.

Kevin